Shirt collar holder



Oct. 1, 1946. I -c. M.- MEAfi 2,408,569

v SHIRT COLLAR HOLDER Filed Oct. :50, 1945 I M/ENTOJE.

mt Char/e5 Patented Oct. 1, 1946 UNITED STATE SHIRT COLLAR HOLDER Charles M. Mead, Los Angeles, Calif. Application October 30, 1945, Serial No. 625,613

2 Claims.

1 My invention relates to a certain improvement in shirt collar holders.

Past experience in manufacturing millions of cardboard collar holders for laundered shirts to prevent flattening of the collar portions has brought me in touch with the various patented types of collar holders. 7 While some of these pat ented devices nearly reach perfection there are certain drawbacks which it is proposed to overcome by the present invention, some half million of my improved collar holders now having been sold within a four-month period and the worthwhileness of the device established and proven due to the actual experience in manufacture and use.

It has been important objects in the development and reducing to practice together with the manufacture of the present article to overcome certain objections which have previously existed in devices of this character, namely; by providing a collar holder which is not so likely to slip from its inserted position and be dislodged, thereby permitting both the collar of the shirt and the collar retainer to collapse and flatten; to improve and simplify the act of operatively relating it to the collar portion of the shirt; to provide an economical support by supplying one wherein the peculiar shape embodies strength as well as a saving in material wasted due to the cutting away of certain portions in the formation of the device, thereby reducing cost of purchased material and permitting the device to be sold at a less price.

These objects have been attained by the production of a collar holder which is peculiarly contoured and provided with a novel tab or ear adjacent its ends which lies in a flatwise manner between the neck band and adjacent overlying collar and the shirt back therebelow rather-than to provide a support in which the holding means extend vertically at the ends and-become easily dislodged when the shirt is shuflled in handling thereby nullifying its effective use.

These and other objects will become apparent when the disclosure is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing showing a reduction to practice model of the device and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a laundered shirt and showing the improved de-' vice in its operative position.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device in the extended or fiat position.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the device in the operative position with the shirt removed.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on line 44 of Fig. 1.

Referring in detail to the drawing, my collar holder may be made out of any flexible sheet material which may be bent or folded, and which possesses a form retaining degree of stiffness.

Said collar holder comprises a strip of sheet material the body portion 5 of which is arcuate in the direction of its length when in a fiat extended position. said strip being bent into an arcuate shape in a diiferent plane when in its operative position within the collar 6 of the folded laundered shirt 1 shown in Figs. 1 and 4, said body portion 5 of the holder being preferably a little wider throughout its midlength portion than throughout its end portions. Each end portion of said body 5 at its concave edge has a rounded portion 8 and at each end at one side opposite to each rounded part 8 the holder is provided with a corner tab or extension 9, there being a scored or perforated line Ill along the juncture of each of said tabs or extensions 9 with the body portion of the holder. Said scored lines I0 enable the operator to bend outwardly toward the convex side of the applied holder each of said tabs Or extensions 9 so than when the holder is put into its operative position said tabs 9 are interposed between the upper shirt portion la and the underlying folds lb thereof, as shown in Fig. 4.

Each of the tabs 9 is of a generally triangular shape as shown, with a concave inner edge I l and a wavy outer edge [2. The triangular, pointed shape of each tab facilitates its insertion under the collar portion of the shirt. Each outer end portion of the body of the holder is also provided with a wavy edge 13, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

Owing to the presence of the score line along the juncture of each tab 9 with the body portion of the holder the tabs efliciently maintain their right angularly directed relation to the holder body ll'when the device is in its applied position, thereby keeping the central portion of the ar cuately bent holder from receding from the front part of the collar portion of the laundered shirt.

It will be seen that the two tabs 9 are so positioned that when the collar holder is in an extended flat position a straight line connecting their most outwardly directed points will be in an inwardly spaced relation to the midlength portion of the convex side edge of the holder. This feature conserves the material of the parent sheets from which the holders are cut out. Also another material-economizing feature resides in the fact that the rounded off corners 8 at each end of the concave edge of the holder makes it possible to bring closer together the cut-out patterns as they are mapped off upon the parent sheet, for the corner tabs 9 may in part be formed from the portions of the parent sheet adjacent to the cutout rounded corners 8.

What is claimed is:

1. As an article of manufacture a collar holder consisting of an elongated flat strip of sheet material of form-retaining stifiness including a body and corner tabs on the lower edge of the body when the latter is in its operative position, said tabs joining the body along scored lines to facilitate out bending them to adapt them for insertion below the collar portion of a laundered shirt while the body portion of the holder is fitted against the inner side of said collar portion, said tabs being triangularly shaped thereby providing them each with an outwardly directed point; which facilitates insertion of the holder into its operative position in relation to the collar portion of a laundered shirt, said outwardly directed points of the two tabs being so positioned that when the collar holder is in an extended flat position a straight line connecting them Will lie in an inwardly spaced relation to the midlength portion of the convex side edge of the holder.

2. The subject matter of claim 1, and said collar holder having a rounded 01f corner at each end of its concave edge.

CHARLES M. MEAD. 

